


Bakers Dozen

by HugsandButterflyKisses



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Essek Week (Critical Role), M/M, also the baker...i love him, essek just wants to buy cupcakes for his friends because he loves them, somehow i made a story about cupcakes this long
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:22:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23440879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HugsandButterflyKisses/pseuds/HugsandButterflyKisses
Summary: Essek finally buys his friends cupcakes(For Essek Week Day 4 (Cupcakes!)
Relationships: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast, one sided but lbr caleb feels the same
Comments: 10
Kudos: 130
Collections: Essek Week





	Bakers Dozen

**Author's Note:**

> This was so fun to write! I hope you guys love cupcake descriptions because Essek sure does!!

The first thing that hits him is the smell. Fresh bread fills his senses as warmth envelopes his body. Next the sweet smell of sugar dances around his sinus’ wrapping him in confectious giddiness. He takes another deep breath and steps further in.

Of course, Essek has been in a bakery before, just not frequently. The Den was never big on bakery goods, even for celebrations they prefered desserts that showed off their status such as exotic fruits, teas, and wines. Even on the rare occasion a pastry made its way into the house it would be cooked by the staff, never from the bakery and certainly never retrieved by their prodigy. Essek can easily recall the only other time he had been in a bakery. His one hundredth birthday he decided to indulge in a loaf of sweet bread. When he walked in to purchase it his mother's voice rang out in his head: 

_ Only a commoner has to purchase from a place like this. _

A young drow boy was in front of him with his own mother, hands splayed across the glass as he decided what pastry to buy. Essek could see his mother's disgusted face already.

_ No one of high stature could consume something so vile. _

Her hatred for all things common was the reason Essek had disguised himself as a red tiefling that day.

Today however, Essek has no disguise. In fact, he’s adorned in his Shadowhand mantle. Though to anyone else in the bakery this visit is inconsequential, Essek feels his heart beat quicken just so. But he is determined.

His own determination strikes him for a moment. Had this been only two months ago Essek would never be here. The fact is, he had been careful. So very careful. And yet when the Mighty Nein appeared holding the beacon Essek was sure he had been had. Empire citizens arriving and declaring their allegiance to his queen all while holding the artifact he had stolen? Not a good sign. As the saying goes, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. And Essek was never one for friends.

It only made sense for him to offer his services to them. He had no problem with teleporting them the first time. Once was acceptable, assumed even. And then they got...comfortable. Essek warned them of their ever growing debt and yet the group only nodded in understanding and acceptance. They apologized, assured him they knew his powers were beyond just silly parlor tricks. And then Jester had hugged him. It threw him off if Essek was being honest. What were they trying to gain from him? Intell? To go back to the Bright Queen and prove he was the traitor?

Jester’s incessant messages were a bother at first. It seemed the woman knew no boundaries. She would message any hour of the day and never with proper courtesy. Her messages meandered and cut her off so frequently Essek would be surprised if she didn't talk right over his response. 

But then to his horror Essek found himself warming up to them. The messages became less bothersome and more endearing. The times he would see the group were always an event that he found himself looking forward to. And the group seemed to warm up to him as well. Beauregard was always wary, Nott and Fjord close behind her. They all knew where they stood with one another. Half truths and arms length acquaintanceship. These things Essek could deal in, had been dealing in for his entire life. It actually made him respect the group more. But he felt no precautions coming from Jester or Caduceus. Yasha also never put judgment onto him. Essek could only assume this stemmed from her past. He knew a small bit of what had happened to her and this deep rooted sadness seemed to emit from her at times. It was in the way she stood stoically as the others joked around her. In the way she stared at him as though she could feel his own anguish. But he felt a kinship to her, however small, as they were both born and raised on Xhorhasian soil, however different that upbringing may have been. And then there was Caleb.

Caleb had caught his eye from their first meeting. Essek could tell the man had nerve from the instant he offered back the beacon. He knew he needed to keep the closest eye on him. And then the unexpected happened. Caleb asked to be mentored by him. Ulterior motives sprung straight up in Essek's mind. What was he trying to learn and why? Unfortunately for Essek, the wizard proved himself more than just knowledgeable. The first lesson Essek watched as Caleb stood in concentration trying to learn the spell and felt himself transfixed, only for a moment. It had only spiraled from there. Now he was completely unsurprised when his heart fluttered as Caleb spoke or looked to him as the group talked around them. This type of thing had never happened to Essek before. He was never interested. Always more focused on work and advancing to even think of romance. 

The only problem with his Caleb  _ situation _ is how transparent he has apparently been. Jester seemed to pick up on it almost immediately. Essek always took her comments as jokes because there was no real reason not to. But, where there is a joke there is truth. 

It's a funny thing, Essek thinks to himself as he waits for the patron ahead to finish, how people can grow to mean so much in such little time. Before the Mighty Nein, he had no one. Sure, he had his Den and the others on the Council but he could never speak to them as friends. They were all merely business partners. Even his Den. And Essek thought he was content with that. Now knowing the Mighty Nein, Essek knows how lonely he truly was. On his walk to the bakery he watched a cat slink by in the alley beside him. The cat turned quickly to look at him and was so identical to Frumpkin Essek wanted to message Caleb immediately to tell him. It's foolish, he knows this, and yet it feels...right. To have people you want to share even the mundane with.

He was sure when they found out he had stolen the beacons, it would be over. Everything he had been trying to protect, everything he had been working towards. And yet none of the mattered as much as losing them. He saw it in their faces. The minute he sat down the mistrust and disappointment was evident. Not that he was surprised. How could they trust him after what he had done? But Caleb had looked at him, held his face, kissed his forehead. He had shown Essek love when he felt most defeated. And somehow that hurt the most. 

And now here he was. Purchasing cupcakes for his friends. 

Just then a tall orc walks up from the back, flour covered apron hanging from his neck.

“What’ll it be?” asks a surprisingly smooth tone. It's not dissimilar to Fjord's voice when Essek had first met the group, which causes him to feel slightly more at ease.

"Hello, yes, I would like to purchase some cupcakes." 

"Flavor?" asks the orc, reaching for a box.

An excited feeling bubbles up in Essek's chest. He is allowed to  _ choose _ the flavor?

"What would you recommend?" He questions as he bends slightly to get a better look at the selection. He seems to have come to the right place. There are cupcakes upon cupcakes lining the shelves, all different flavors. 

The orc reaches over the counter and points at a chocolate cupcake with orange frosting. 

"This here is a new specialty item. Made with ringroot pepper. Adds a nice kick." 

Essek immediately thinks of Beauregard. "I'll definitely have one of those, please." And with a smile the orc carefully takes one from the tray and places it in the box. 

Essek scans the cupcakes and his eyes land upon an almost black cupcake with deep purple frosting. "And this?"

"Ah, good choice that is. A real Xhorhas delicacy if you ask me. The frosting is infused with juice from spider legs. Now, before you start getting any ideas, the chemicals in the spider venom react with the sugar causing one hell of a sweet cupcake. Entirely non lethal of course." The orc finishes, a proud look on his face. Essek gathers he came up with the recipe himself. 

"Here, you can sample it first." The orc says without waiting for an answer. He grabs and cuts into one of the cupcakes, a small puddle beginning to ooze out. 

Essek accepts the half offered to him and bites into it. Immediate flood of delicious flavor flows through his body. He looks up to the orc who is watching him with excited energy, chewing the other half. 

"I's good isn' it" the orc says through cupcake.

Essek nods happily. He is right, it's one hell of a good cupcake. Spider legs were always one of Essek's favorite foods despite his mother's dislike for them. He never could have imagined they would be any good as a dessert, let alone a cupcake. 

"Definitely one of those as well." Essek says after swallowing. He knows he and Yasha had vastly different upbringings, but anyone born in Xhorhas knows the delectable taste of spider legs. And since the Mighty Nein have been away at sea for some time already Essek is sure she hasn’t had any in awhile. He scans the cupcakes again as the orc packs it up. Then he gets an idea.

"Do you have anything made with tea by chance?" 

"Course I do! I got green tea, orange tea, chamomile, jasmine..." the orc trails off.

Essek thinks to himself. He's sure Caduceus would appreciate any of those but he's looking for something more Xhorhasian.

"Anything more local? Something only available here." 

"Course there is. I got anise, roselle, agrimonia-”

"Agrimonia! Oh, Pardon me," Essek says quickly, cheeks darkening. "I'm quite fond of agrimonia tea." 

The orc lets out a hearty laugh at that. "No apologies here. I get just about that excited with each new recipe I come up with. I'm glad they're appreciated." 

Essek gives a small smile to the orc in response. The cupcake he puts into the box is white with a pleasant pastel yellow frosting. 

Essek's attention is then drawn to another purple hued cupcake. This one has a small branch coming out of the frosting with two moon berries hanging. 

"And the moon berry as well, I already know that one will be exquisite." 

Moon berry reminded Essek of his childhood. Sitting outside with his sister and brother when they were still young. One of their cooks would bring a fresh bowl of moon berries to them and the trio would fight over who got the first taste. It was a good memory, one of the few he had with his siblings that did not revolve around advancement and knowledge. 

This one he thinks Nott- no,  _ Veth, _ she is Veth now. If their last meeting had been any less tumultuous, Essek is not sure he could have kept himself together seeing Veth back in her body, knowing how hard she and Caleb worked to get to that point. He’s excited for Veth to try moonberries, knowing how she isn’t afraid to try anything different or weird. 

The cupcake beside the moonberry is an orange cake with a light brown frosting. A single pumpkin seed nestled amongst the frosting. 

The orc sees him eyeing it and offers, "Good ol' pumpkin spice. Perfect when you just want to settle in on your favorite chair and read a good book." 

With that kind of description, how can Essek not purchase that one? Nothing has ever been so Caleb without being Caleb. 

Essek nods to the baker who adds the pumpkin cupcake to the box. Now all he needs is a cupcake for Fjord and Jester. 

A golden cupcake with gold frosting and small bobbles as sprinkles all encased by a thin, nest like string calls to him. It is bright and flashy, a perfect looking cupcake for his friend.

"Another wise choice! My honey cupcake is a quick sell. The cake is baked with honey straight from my family owned beehives just outside the Dynasty. A drizzle of honey is added as the finishing touch over the frosting. Truly divine." 

"That sounds perfect, thank you. I did not know you came from such a long way. Why open a bakery here?" Essek asks for some reason. He never used to make small talk with people. Unless he was trying to learn something or gain prestige, there was never a need.

“My family isn’t from too far aways, just about an hour or two. We’ve kept bees since before I was born, kinda weird for an orc family, huh.” he says with another smile, one tusk poking just at his cheekbone.

“I always loved baking but there’s not many people around my village, so not a lot of business. Came here and bought the first storefront I saw. Been here about five years now.”

“That is certainly something to be proud of. Do you miss them?” Essek asks. He actually finds himself interested in what the orc has to say.

“Miss them? I go home just about every weekend!” The orc lets out a boisterous laugh. “They couldn’t get rid of me if they tried, I love them too damn much.”

Essek feels a smile form on his own face. For the first time in his life, he can relate. The thought is nerve wracking and yet Essek is at peace with it.

Now all he needs is a cupcake for Fjord. Glancing back at the extravagance of Jester's, he decides a simple cupcake is a better fit for Fjord. Closer to the front of the bakery is a row of chocolate cupcakes. Essek walks over to them and the orc begins his description.

"A real classic that one. Double chocolate cake and frosting with a dash of salt to cut through the sweet. This type of cake is a tried and true recipe." 

Essek nods. Something about the simple yet timeless recipe speaks to him. “And that one too.”

The orc packs it up and says, “You got room for one more, what’ll it be?” 

Essek pauses. Which should he buy for himself? Suddenly the options seem endless.”How about you chose the last one?” he asks.

With a nod, the orc steps immediately over to a vanilla cupcake with light green frosting. “My favorite. Can’t go wrong with mint.”

He places the final cupcake in the box and begins to wrap it up. Before he pays, Essek buys a box of pastries, again allowing the baker to choose for him. As he is about to grab his boxes and go, he stops.

"After all this and I didn't catch your name. Essek Theylass." and he extends out his hand.

The orc smiles, “Molag.” and wraps Essek’s hand in his own.

“Well, Molag, I think I'll be seeing a lot more of you in the future."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Let me know which cupcake was your favorite (I'm torn between the moonberry and spider leg tbh, maybe because of the color palette and less for the taste haha)


End file.
